Australia’s Chad Reed admits that a strong finish to the Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship is exactly what he needs if he’s to stand a chance at a second 450 Class outdoor title.

The TwoTwo Motorsports/Bel-Ray Racing rider has struggled somewhat since his significant Spring Creek crash, but heading into Souythwick on Saturday he’s certain there’s still time to make back the 25 point-deficit to Ryan Villopoto.

“I haven’t finished where I’ve need to for the last few rounds and this has opened up the gap to the leaders,” said Reed. “I felt like I could have come away with a much better result at Unadilla and we’ve really been focusing on what went wrong there.

“Southwick changes things up again with an all-sand surface. The track will change a lot throughout the day and to get a result here you need to be on top of it.

“This starts the real run home for us – three rounds in three weekends. For us to have a chance at this we need to be fast enough to be challenging for and taking wins.

“I’m proud of what we’ve achieved so far but a strong finish to the season would really round the year for us as well as our sponsors and fans.”

The Australian rider has taken four overall wins in 2011.

A maximum of 50 points can be claimed at Southwick, with the Steel City and Pala Nationals following on consecutive weekends.